With the increase in industry and industrial products, quantities of waste have increased worldwide, especially plastic waste, as plastic pollution is considered one of the wastes of the modern era that threatens the environment and living organisms. On this basis, a solution must be found to use this waste and recycle it safely so that it does not threaten the environment. Therefore, this research used plastic waste as an improvement material for clay soil. In this research, two types of tests were conducted, the first of which was a laboratory test, where the undrained shear strength (cohesion), compression index (Cc), and swelling index (Cr) of the improved and unimproved soils were calculated (plastic was added in proportions (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2)%. The second part of the examination was done through physical modeling, where 2% of plastic was used, considered the optimal percentage in this research, and the calculation of the carrying capacity-settlement relationship for both the improved and unimproved soils. Using this percentage of plastic showed an improvement in the relationship between the bearing capacities of soil vs. subsidence, as an increase in the amount of stress was observed from 405 KPa to 459 kPa at 10% of subsidence.
Cover crops (CC) improve soil quality, including soil microbial enzymatic activities and soil chemical parameters. Scientific studies conducted in research centers have shown positive effects of CC on soil enzymatic activities; however, studies conducted in farmer fields are lacking in the literature. The objective of this study was to quantify CC effects on soil microbial enzymatic activities (β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolase, and dehydrogenase) under a corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation. The study was conducted in 2016 and 2018 in Chariton County, Missouri, where CC were first established in 2012. All tested soil enzyme levels were significantly different between 2016 and 2018
... Show MoreSoil water use and water storage vary by vegetative management practices, and these practices affect land productivity and hydrologic processes. This study investigated the effects of agroforestry buffers (AB), grass buffers (GB), and biofuel crops (BC), relative to row crops (RC) on soil water use for a claypan soil in northern Missouri, USA. The experiment located at the Greenley Memorial Research Center included RC, AB, GB, and BC established in 1991, 1997, 1997, and 2012, respectively. Soil water reflectometer sensors installed at 5‐, 10‐, 20‐, and 40‐cm depths monitored soil water from April to November in 2017 and 2018. Results showed significant differences in weekly volumetric water content (VWC) among treatments for all fou
... Show MoreTo study the comparative use of some soil minerals (zeolite, bentonite, phosphate rock, and limestone) in the adsorption and release of lead and its removal rates from its aqueous solutions using adsorption equations. Two laboratory experiments were carried out for the adsorption and release of lead. The adsorption experiment took 0.5 g of some of the above soil minerals. Lead was added as Pb (NO3)2 at levels of 3.0, 2.0, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.0 mmol L-1 containing a concentration of 0.01M of calcium chloride. The experimental unit’s number was 72, the concentration of dissolved lead in the equilibrium solution was estimated and the amount of lead adsorbed was calculated. As for the lead release experiment, samples fo
... Show MoreA survey of entomopathogenic and other opportunistic fungi isolated from soil samples collected from insect hibernation sites in different habitats in Kurdistan region of Iraq was carried out during October to December 2009. By using dilution plate method, two entomopathogenic species (Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill.and Isaria javanica (Friedrichs & Bally) Samson & Hywel-Jones) were detected with isolation percentage (38.46%) each. Other opportunistic fungi such as Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, A.niger, Penicillium glabrum, P. digitatum, Rhizopus stolonifer and Syncephalastratum racemosum
A laboratory experiment has been carried out in the College of Science-University of Salahaddin to study the effect of different levels (0,5,10 and 15%) and sizes(250 and 1000µm) of walnut seeds residues and (160mg.kg-1) phosphorus fertilization on the concentration of phosphorus availability and alkaline phosphatase activity in calcareous soil during 15 and 30 days period of incubation, the experimental design in factorial complet randomize design (C.R.D) with three replications. The results indicated that the application of different levels of walnut seed residues decreases the concentration of phosphorus availability and alkaline phosphatase activity, however the results revealed that combination between levels and sizes o
... Show MoreThis research studies the rheological properties ( plastic viscosity, yield point and apparent viscosity) of Non-Newtonian fluids under the effect of temperature using different chemical additives, such as (xanthan gum (xc-polymer), carboxyl methyl cellulose ( High and low viscosity ) ,polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, starch, Quebracho and Chrome Lignosulfonate). The samples were prepared by mixing 22.5g of bentonite with 350 ml of water and adding the additives in four different concentrations (3, 6, 9, 13) g by using Hamilton Beach mixer. The rheological properties of prepared samples were measured by using Fan viscometer model 8-speeds. All the samples were subjected to Bingham plastic model. The temperature range studi
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